


Winter Things

by skullkidd



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Christmas, F/F, F/M, Fluff, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skullkidd/pseuds/skullkidd
Summary: Christmas morning in Ventus and Vanitas's apartment. Soft scenes only.





	Winter Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waywardriot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardriot/gifts).



> I wrote this as an apology for all the angst in Way Down We Go. (you should definitely check it out, by the way.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

Vanitas gets home from a long night shift to a dark apartment, a fire burning in the fireplace being the only source of light in the room.

He tosses his keys onto the counter as he starts towards the couch, casting a quick glance at the time lit up from the clock on the microwave. 2:12am.

He stumbles his way across messy floors until he gets to the sleeping blonde boy sprawled across their couch in the middle of the living room. “Ven,” he whispers, shaking the boy gently on the shoulder.

Ventus sleeps like a rock, he always has, and so it takes Vanitas a few tries to succeed in waking him from his sleep. “Hmm?” Ventus finally murmurs, still clearly half asleep. Vanitas rolls his eyes as he stifles a laugh.

“Come on, sleeping beauty. Bed’s comfier than the couch.”

Ventus takes a moment to be even halfway coherent, and Vanitas ends up taking to just picking him up like a child and carrying him to bed. He could be merciful and leave Ventus there, where he was clearly very comfortable, but Vanitas knows he won’t get a good night’s sleep without Ventus next to him, and he’s never been anything less than selfish.

He plops Ventus down on the bed, choosing to ignore his boyfriend’s disgruntled noises in response to being dropped onto a mattress so carelessly.

Vanitas climbs into bed next to Ventus, the blonde immediately grasping onto the hemline of Vanitas’s shirt and pulling him closer. Ven buries his face into Vanitas’s shirt and is snoring within seconds.

Vanitas chuckles, turning over to drape an arm over Ventus’s side as he pulls the blankets over the two of them, drifting off to sleep fairly quickly afterwards.

 

* * *

 

He wakes the next morning to Ventus’s absence.

He isn’t surprised that Ven had let him sleep in, what with Vanitas having to work the late shift the previous night. Ventus is the type to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 8am, and Vanitas is the type to not go to bed, ever.

He sits up, shoving his feet into slippers and throwing the spare blanket at the end of their bed over his shoulders like a cape.

He shuffles into the kitchen, Ventus’s attention turned to the stove top as he cooks. He doesn’t turn as Vanitas walks up behind him, wrapping his blanket-covered arms around Ventus from behind and burying his face into Ventus’s yellow t-shirt.

“Good morning,” Ventus greets, and Vanitas just grunts in disapproval.

“Mornings are not good.”

“This morning is,” Ventus says, turning around despite Vanitas not moving from his hugging position whatsoever. Ventus drapes his arms over Vanitas’s shoulders as Vanitas leans his face into his boyfriend’s chest. “Merry Christmas.”

“Happy holidays,” Vanitas corrects him, and Ventus rolls his eyes, though the smile stays present. It always does.

“You celebrate Christmas. We’ve celebrated  _ four  _ Christmases together, I think I would know at this point if you were on Hanukkah's side.”

Vanitas grumbles, knowing that Ventus is fully aware that he just finds it necessary to argue with him at every given opportunity, because it  _ keeps Ventus on his toes.  _ Vanitas’s words.

“Your coffee’s on the counter,” Ventus says with a nod in the direction of the brew in Vanitas’s favorite jet-black mug with a broken off handle.  _ It’s sentimental,  _ he’s told Ventus a thousand times, almost exclusively after every single instance in which Vanitas had burnt his hands picking up the mug by the cup itself.

Vanitas shuffles himself over to the chair, sloppily sitting down in an attempt to keep his blanket draped over his shoulders. “Did you put cream in this?”

Ventus sends Vanitas a grin over his shoulder. “No, milk. Maybe a little cinnamon.”

“You will not convert me,” Vanitas retorts, though he drinks it anyway. “I have always drank my coffee black, and I always will drink my coffee black. No barista past will ever be enough to convince me to change my bean juice routine.”

“Did you just refer to coffee as  _ bean juice?” _

“It’s good,” Vanitas admits in an attempt to dodge the question, and Ventus sends him a knowing glance.

“I know it is. It’s the same as the one I gave you accidentally on the first day you came into that God forsaken coffee shop.”

“Hard to screw up black coffee,” Vanitas laughs as Ventus sends him a glare.

“It was just a mixup, I made you your coffee, you ass. Besides, if I hadn’t messed it up, you never would have come back to the counter, anyway. Right?”

“I guess,” Vanitas muses, taking a sip of the coffee that he’s still bitter about liking so much, though it isn’t much of a surprise. Despite all his arguments otherwise, Ventus could mix ginger ale with ketchup and Vanitas would appreciate it. He probably wouldn’t drink it, however, but that’s not important. “What’s got you all sentimental?”

“I’m always sentimental,” Ven says, shrugging off the question and turning back to the stove.

“ _ That  _ is a bold faced lie,” Vanitas says as he sips on his cinnamon coffee. “I’m always sentimental, you never even think back to yesterday.”

“Maybe I’m just feeling sentimental because this is our first Christmas living together,” Ventus shrugs as he turns, placing Vanitas’s breakfast in front of him and taking the seat beside him. “Eat quick, then we do presents.”

“Presents?” Vanitas asks. “Plural? I thought we agreed on a budget this year-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You didn’t really think I’d stick to that, did you?”

Vanitas doesn’t respond, because he absolutely did not stick to it either. He  _ tried,  _ sure, but every time he was on his afternoon commute to work and noticed something in a window of a shop on main street, he couldn’t  _ not  _ pick it up. Vanitas always hated Christmas, coming from his broken family, it used to just consist of him and his brother, Sora, buying each other chocolate bars and little race cars from corner stores. Now that Vanitas has a full time job with steady income, he always makes sure to spoil both Ven and Sora a little bit more every year.

Vanitas eats his breakfast painstakingly slow on purpose, because he can see how excited Ventus is, and what kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t mess with him? Ventus was always so easy to fluster, and Vanitas always found it cute making the boy just a little bit annoyed. Ventus always does this thing with his eyebrows when he gets annoyed with Vanitas, and he finds it too adorable to not instigate.

It’s the exact look Ventus is giving him now, as he starts digging his fork into Vanitas’s breakfast in a clear attempt to get him to speed up. “Okay, okay, get outta here,” Vanitas laughs, giving up on his scheme and finishing his breakfast quickly. “Before we do presents, is it alright if I call Sora?”

“Of course,” Ventus nods, taking Vanitas’s plate with him to the sink and scrubbing it. “I should call my father, too. And Terra and Aqua, too.”

Vanitas smiles at Ven as he walks by, giving Vanitas a kiss on his forehead as he passes. His boyfriend heads off to their bathroom as Vanitas dials Sora’s number and presses call.

It rings a few times before Sora answers, and Vanitas can hear laughter from the other end of the phone.

“He- hey, stop it! Hello?” Sora asks, sounding a little out of breath.

“Hey, Sora,” Vanitas greets. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas!” Sora calls from the other end.

“Is that Vanitas?” He hears someone ask in the background. “Hey, Vani!”

“Hey, Riku,” Vanitas laughs, playing around with the last few drops of coffee in his mug. “How are you guys?”

“We’re good!” Sora says, still laughing, which makes Vanitas smile. “Hey, you’ll  _ never  _ guess what Riku got me for Christmas!”

“I think I can guess,” Vanitas laughs, knowing the exact thing Sora’s been asking for for  _ years. _

“A cat!” Vanitas asks and Sora exclaims. “Wait, did he tell you?”

“No, but you’ve only been wanting a cat since you were a kid, I can’t imagine Riku would have passed up on that opportunity. Have you named it yet?”

“Mmm, not yet. We can’t agree on a name, so as of now we’re just calling him Meow Wow. I’m sure we’ll think of something soon. What did Ventus get you?”

“No idea, we haven’t done presents yet. I only woke up, like, half an hour ago.”

“What?!” Sora demands. “It’s 11:30am!”

“Yeah, I was at work until 2,” Vanitas defends himself with a chuckle. “I have no idea what he could have gotten me, though. Usually I can figure it out because Ventus can’t keep a secret to save his life, but I really don’t know this year. He didn’t even put anything under the tree, because he was so determined to keep it a secret for whatever reason.”

“Maybe you got a cat, too!” Vanitas can almost hear Sora grinning through the phone. “Seriously, though, you and Ven have to come here for dinner tonight. I want you to meet our cat! Riku got him from a shelter, so he’s a little scraggly at the moment, but we’re gonna clean him up by tonight. He’s the sweetest.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll have time to stop by. I can’t imagine Ventus wants to go see his father.”

Sora’s quiet for a moment, knowing about Ventus’s father, Eraqus’s disapproval of his son’s relationship. Eraqus and Vanitas’s father have some weird history between them or something, and Eraqus had tried his damndest to stop Ventus and Vanitas from dating initially. After he realized he couldn’t do anything about it, he gave up, though he doesn’t put in any effort to welcome Vanitas into his home. Vanitas feels guilty about causing that strain between Ven and his father, but Ven insists that Eraqus will come around eventually.

“Hey, it’ll all be okay. You and Ven are like soulmates,” Sora reassures him. “I swear, I’m still waiting on a wedding announcement from you two.”

Vanitas chuckles, shaking his head. “I dunno about that. I’ve been thinking about seeing how Ven would feel about it, but I don’t know.”

“Oh, get over yourself, you pessimist. Ven loves you, he’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

“Is Vanitas proposing?!” He hears Riku call from the background.

“I sure hope so,” Sora laughs. “I’m calling dibs on ring bearer.”

“Sora, you’re 20 years old.”

“Do you know any young children who can take on the role?” Sora questions, and Vanitas rolls his eyes.

“Terra and Aqua’s son?” He laughs, and Sora’s silent for a moment.

“Fine. You win. But I’d better be the first to know when it does happen!”

“Of course, So,” Vanitas laughs, turning as he hears movement behind him and sending a smile to Ventus. “Hey, I gotta go, but I’ll see you tonight?”

“You better!” Sora calls. “No, Riku, get him down from there- I gotta go, Vani. See you tonight!”

Sora doesn’t wait for a response before the phone beeps at Vanitas, and he places it down on the counter as he turns to Ventus, who’s standing above him, hands on his shoulders. “Presents time?”

“You’re so impatient,” Vanitas laughs, and Ventus feigns offence.

“I’m  _ excited, _ ” He corrects, and Vanitas rolls his eyes, lunging forward and grabbing Ventus around his waist, throwing him over his shoulder and tossing him down on the couch, then leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“You,” he says, moving down to kiss him, “are adorable.”

“And  _ you, _ ” Ventus continues, pulling Vanitas back down to kiss him again, “are corny. Now, presents time!”

He leaps up and runs to the tree, before sitting down and pulling out a gift, tossing it to Vanitas who stands above him. “This is one of two.”

Vanitas gives him a smile as he rips the Santa Clause wrapping paper off the small box, opening it to see the black watch he’d been eyeing down for  _ months.  _ He stares down at it, shocked, as he notices engraving in the bottom of the watch face.  _ 12.25.  _ He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, wondering why Ventus would choose today’s date for the inscription. His breath is taken away at how attentive Ventus must have been to know Vanitas wanted this exact watch, because he hadn’t mentioned it even once, knowing full well that the price tag was nothing if not high. “Ven, this is  _ so  _ amazing-” he starts, looking down at his boyfriend who he hadn’t noticed during his admiration of the watch, but he nearly drops it in shock at the sigh of Ventus’s change in position.

He’s on one knee, holding up a ring in a red box and grinning up at Vanitas, who just stares at him, wide-eyed. “This is the other one.”

“You… What?” Vanitas asks, heart racing and hands shaking.

“Marry me?” Ventus asks, and Vanitas stands there frozen for a few moments too long. Ventus gives him a knowing smile, raising his eyebrows. “Leg’s gonna cramp up if I stay here much longer-”

Vanitas cuts him off by dropping to his knees and hugging him so hard that Ventus nearly falls over. He laughs as he steadies himself, pulling back from Vanitas’s hug and holding the ring up to him again. “You still haven’t answered.”

“Yes,” Vanitas breathes, staring at the ring, still in  _ complete  _ shock. “Yes, of  _ course  _ yes.”

Ventus grins again, placing the ring on Vanitas’s finger. Vanitas grabs him by either side of the face and pulls him into a kiss, and he can feel Ventus smile through it. “You had me worried there for a second-” Ventus starts, and Vanitas shakes his head.

“Shut up,” he says, kissing him again, causing Ventus to laugh into it before breaking away.

“Surprised?” Ven asks, and Vanitas nods, staring down at the ring on his finger, mesmerized.

“Very,” he says, though he sends Ventus a loving smile. “I thought you’d have gotten sick of me by now.”

“I got sick of you years ago,” Ventus jokes, and Vanitas rolls his eyes, kissing him again. “You’d better call Sora back.”

Vanitas stares at him, mouth wide. “He  _ knew?!” _

“Of course he knew, you really think I wouldn’t tell Sora? He’d wring my neck if I didn’t,” Ventus laughs, and Vanitas shrugs, looking back at the ring, still unable to process it. He grabs the watch, running his finger over the inscription.

“Yeah, he would. I can’t believe you two asses managed to keep this from me,” he laughs, a few happy tears starting to spill over. “God, I’m gonna kill you both.”

“Maybe wait until after the wedding?” Ventus asks, and Vanitas laughs, wiping a tear that falls down his cheek.

“Of course. How’s a destination wedding sound?” He asks, and Ventus shrugs.

“I wouldn’t expect any different. Vienna? I’ve always wanted to go there.”

Vanitas laughs, kissing Vens’s cheek softly. “We’ve got the rest of our lives to go wherever you want. Now it’s your turn, but I don’t really think I can top this,” Vanitas jokes, tossing Ventus the envelope he’d hidden under an empty box.

Ventus smiles absentmindedly as he opens the envelope, pulling out the piece of paper as his own smile fades into shock. “Vani, you did  _ not-” _

“We leave on the 30th,” he grins, and Ventus jumps forward to hug him.

“ _ Vienna?!”  _ He demands, sitting back down and reading the printed off plane tickets over. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Well, you did say you’ve always wanted to go,” Vanitas shrugs.

“New Years in Vienna,” Ventus breathes. “I love you.”

Vanitas chuckles, leaning forward to give Ventus a soft kiss on the cheek. “I love you, too. Now open the rest of these, I got you for more than I probably should have.”

Ventus rolls his eyes, though he clearly can’t suppress a smile.

He opens the rest of his gifts, and they spend the rest of the day just being together, until they head out for Sora’s.

His brother laughs as he sees the ring, giving Ventus a hug and welcoming him into the family.

“So, about that ring bearer position,” Sora says to Ventus as he takes Vanitas’s fiancé into the house.

Vanitas rolls his eyes as he takes off his boots and follows them into the house, smiling down at the ring on his finger for the thousandth time that day.

Vanitas hadn’t had a good life, not until Ventus. But as he sits at the table with Sora, Riku and Ven, he starts to realize that none of that matters.

He has all he needs, right here.


End file.
